Yin and Yang
by Allen the Musician
Summary: Black and white... good and evil. Can such clear lines truly be drawn on this flawed planet that we call Earth? No, for nothing is purely one or the other; All things contain both good and evil and thus all people can find either redemption or damnation.
1. Reunion of Brothers

Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man nor any of it's characters.

Chapter One - Reunion of Brothers

"Intruders!" a voice shouted, gaining the attention of a small group of people who were camping in a vast field. A black flag was flying at the edge of the camp, decorated by a strange looking many pointed cross, and seemed to be keeping sentry over those who were sound asleep. Night had fallen, leaving only one person standing guard while the others sought to catch a few minutes of peaceful sleep. However, as the cries of the lone guard echoed through the night, several people jumped from their sleeping bags and scrambled for their various weapons.

The sounds of various insects had been serving as a lullaby to the temporary inhabitants of the field but now they had been silenced, replaced by a much harsher sound. And one that boded ill for the people who had been peacefully sleeping until mere seconds ago.

Two makeshift pallets had been positioned a slight distance away from the majority of the group and the occupant of one of the sleeping bags raised his head as he heard the cry of the sentry. Sitting up he swiped at a lock of flaming red hair as he watched the other members of their group scrambled up, realizing immediately that something was definitely out of the ordinary. His gaze shifted about for a few seconds before he realized what was going on.

There was trouble… and a lot of it.

"Damn it," he growled as he got to his feet, grabbing his coat and pulling it on as he did so. This was the last thing that he wanted, especially since he had slipped a little something into his drink only a few hours ago and his head was pounding because of it. In hindsight, that hadn't been such a good idea, but he had definitely enjoyed it at the time.

"Come on Walker," the red haired teen snarled, glaring at the youth who was nestled in the sleeping bag directly beside his own. He could almost guarantee that the other boy hadn't heard the shouts of the sentry since a bomb could go off right beside him and he wouldn't notice. Damn guy slept like a rock. Which was more than annoyance most of the time and something that the red head was constantly resisting the urge to smack him over. "Get your ass up..."

A groan issued from the youth who was buried beneath the other sleeping bag, a shock of dark brown hair the only thing visible. He had never had an easy time of waking up and the fact that his sleep had been interrupted only served to put him into a decidedly foul mood. Blowing out a frustrated breath, and fighting the urge to kill the boy whom he knew was standing over him, he wiped at his eyes with the back of one hand. "Is it really something that requires all of us Cross?" he questioned as he crawled from beneath the covers, a frown on his face as he made a move to turn his attention toward Cross.

However the sound of echoing gunfire served to cause his gaze to shift elsewhere. The light of the partial moon allowed him to just barely make out the silhouettes of a very familiar enemy. Actually vast numbers of said familiar enemy. And the flashes of light signaled a battle that was shaping up to be of epic proportions.

"Akuma," he growled as he quickly scrambled to his feet, the small green cross that he wore around his neck swinging back and forth due to the motion. The slight irritation from before was gone now, replaced with an even greater feeling of annoyance. "Why didn't you say something sooner Cross?"

"I told you to get your ass up," Cross growled as he drew his Anti-Akuma firearm, testing the weight of the weapon that he was just now growing accustomed to using. "What more do you want from me?"

"It wouldn't kill you to be a little more specific," the youth named Walker said as he and Cross dashed across the field toward the assembled Akuma. It seemed as though they were targeting the small village that bordered the field, although for what reason, the Exorcists couldn't say. Though their sheer numbers lent credence to the possibility that there was Innocence nearby.

"I'll try to keep that in mind the next time," Cross countered as he came to a halt, pointing his weapon toward the egg shaped Akuma. They were only level one so it shouldn't really be difficult for them to destroy them, despite their lack of experience. "Or I could just let your ass get killed… that would save me a lot of headaches later. And serve you right for being so damned difficult all the time."

"I'll remember that the next time you're accused of smuggling liquor into headquarters," Walker said, a smirk appearing on his face as he prepared his own weapon. It was a bit more difficult to operate, owing to the rather odd shape that it had taken, but was useful none the less. "And I won't provide you with an alibi."

Cross actually looked stricken as he heard these words from his companion. "Okay, okay. I won't let the bastards kill you. There, are you happy now?"

The brown haired young man chuckled before turning his attention back to the Akuma. "Very happy. Now we should probably do something about the Akuma menace before they completely destroy the village."

Cross eyed the carnage as he leveled his gun and fired a couple of shots. "I think it's a little late to be that ambitious," he muttered as he watched his bullets sail toward the enemies. He wasn't sure why he had even bothered to aim, since the bullets sought out Akuma and never missed. Guess it was just a throwback from having learned to use a normal gun first.

The other youth sighed as he summoned his powers, holding his hands on either side of the green cross, palms flat and facing it. The stone began to glow green a split second before it grew in size, snapping the thin piece of cord that it hung from. Deftly catching it the boy named Walker leapt into the air, holding up his newly formed weapon which now resembled a cross that had been sharpened into a stake. Attacking the Akuma closest to him, the youth drove the pointy end of the weapon into the creature before jumping back.

A split second before an explosion lit up the night sky.

"Pitiful," Cross commented as he fired three more shots, taking out three Akuma that were rushing toward his companion. It seemed as though they were out for blood now but the red haired youth didn't give them the opportunity to get close enough to strike. "And I believe that makes the score me: five and you: one."

"Show off…" Doing a series of flips he landed beneath a group of the Akuma before they even realized that he was approaching them. In a matter of seconds he had evened the score, turning to Cross with a triumphant look in his brown eyes. "Just because you can attack from a distance and still kill more than one doesn't mean that you're better than me."

Cross' jaw actually dropped as he witnessed Walker's little acrobatic display, slightly surprised that he had managed to even the score in such a short period of time. "How annoying… guess that means that I'm going to have to increase the difficulty level."

"Which translates into 'I'm going to show off even more'," the other teen mocked. He made a move to go after the remaining Akuma before Cross had the opportunity but paused as he saw something strange appear on the horizon.

This moment of hesitation cost him the game as Cross fired a volley of shots that succeeded in bringing an end to the remaining enemies. The red head turned to his companion with a smug expression, opening his mouth to gloat about his victory. But he changed his mind as he saw the look on the other boy's face. "What is it?" he asked.

"Something just appeared over there," Walker said, replacing his Innocence and making his way over to the spot where he had seen the flash of light. And as he drew closer he could almost swear that he heard the sound of music.

"Do you hear that?" Cross questioned as he followed along behind the taller boy. He was almost afraid to ask, lest he find out that he was hallucinating the entire thing, but some questions you just had to know the answer to, whether or not it meant that you'd be thought of as crazy for the rest of your life. This… this was one of them.

"If you're referring to the music then yes," he replied as he drew closer. His steps were cautious as he approached a grove of large shrubs, as though anticipating something jumping out at him in any given moment. "Sounds almost like a lullaby," he commented in a quiet voice, his brown eyes surveying their surroundings with extreme caution. "But where's it coming from?"

"Are you the ones who destroyed Lord Millennium's precious Akuma?" a calm voice asked, from somewhere behind the bushes. The music seemed to grow slightly louder at this point and both Cross and Walker watched as someone stepped from the shadows.

Cross actually laughed as his gaze fell upon the new arrival, all fear of imminent threat now gone. It was a boy even younger than they themselves, dressed as though he had gotten lost on the way to a fancy party. Slender and fairly short in stature, the boy had mahogany hair that was slightly longer than most boys wore, though nowhere near as long as Cross' own red locks. It was slicked back away from his face, though a couple of rogue strands hung before his eyes, and it curled slightly at the ends, giving it a charmingly disheveled look. He was wearing a snowy white tuxedo, complete with tails, and a black bow tie was tied around his neck. This look also included a black vest worn underneath the tuxedo jacket. Altogether this ensemble served to make the kid look vastly out of place in his current surroundings.

Walker froze as the new boy stepped from behind the bushes, unable to believe his eyes. He actually felt the need to pinch himself in order to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. "Is that…" he began.

"…really you?" the younger boy said, completing his sentence. He stared for a moment longer before whispering, "Mana…"

"What the hell is going on?" Cross demanded, his gaze shifting back and forth between his companion and the kid who had just shown up. It was obvious that the brat was familiar with his companion and the red haired youth found himself wanting to know exactly how it was that they knew one another.

The kid cast a disapproving gaze in Cross' direction before his gaze shifted back in the direction of the person that he really wanted to speak to. And it was in this moment that he took note of the way that the two older teens were dressed, for perhaps the first time since his arrival. Both wore hooded black coats that were trimmed in white and adorned with a very familiar looking cross. Something that he had been trained to spot and couldn't possibly have missed.

"Wait," he said, taking a couple of steps away from them and focusing his gaze on Walker. There was a slightly accusing light buried within his gray orbs as he stared at the older teen. "Mana... You're an Exorcist?"

A/N - End of the first chapter of yet another fic focused on Mana and the 14th although this one takes a vastly different spin on things. I found myself wondering how things would have been if Mana had also been an Exorcist and of course this is the end result. Special thanks to Howlingwolf94 for beta reading this first chapter! Hope that you all enjoyed, please be kind enough to leave a review.


	2. Exorcist and Noah

Disclaimer - I do not own DGM

Chapter Two - Exorcist and Noah

For a moment, after uttering those words, which were partially a question and partially an accusation, all the boy in white could do was stare. It was beyond obvious that he was somewhat shocked by this rather unexpected turn of events.

And not in the least bit happy about it.

For his part, Mana was equally surprised, staring in confusion at the younger teen as the question was posed to him. Soft brown eyes met steely gray ones as each boy sought answers from the other.

As though in a silent battle of wills.

Silence hung heavy in the air as the two youths fought to make sense of the situation. Cross, on the other hand, was a little more vocal than the other two. "Hey brat," he demanded, taking a couple of steps toward the mahogany haired boy, his red eyes locking with the smaller boy's gray ones. "How the hell do you even know about Exorcists?"

After all, that knowledge was supposedly restricted to a limited number of people.

"Back off," the boy growled in a menacing tone, seemingly growing irritated with Cross' attempts to approach him. Wariness shone in his eyes for the briefest of moments before it was hidden behind a mask of stoicism that had been perfected by years of practise. Taking a step away from the red head, the boy turned his attention back to Mana, in essence saying without the use of words that Cross wasn't worth any more of his time. "Answer the question."

Far from a request, it was more of a command.

And it effectively served to snap Mana out of his trance like state and bring his mind back to the present. Narrowing his brown eyes in mild annoyance he focused his full attention on the younger boy. He was still curious as to what was going on but that would just have to wait. "I know that it's been awhile but that's no excuse for forgetting your manners Neah Walker."

"Well this certainly takes me back," the boy named Neah said, his voice still possessing a slightly arrogant tone about him. He seemed completely un-phased by the stern note in Mana's own voice, as well as the fact that he had just been scolded by the older boy. "Haven't heard that in what, four years?"

Mana looked stricken for a moment as he was seized by memories of the past, of the event that had torn his family apart. Things hadn't been the same since that horrible day and there were times when the teen could still hear the frantic screams of the boy as the two of them were forcefully separated.

"I tried to find you," Mana said in his own defense, both his voice and his gaze softening as he gazed upon the boy's features. Neah appeared to have changed a great deal in the time that they had been separated and he seemed to have lost most, if not all, of his childish innocence. The older teen found that he couldn't keep himself from wondering what exactly had happened to the boy to put that steely look in his gray eyes.

The boy who stood before him appeared hardened by the world. As though he had seen things that no child should ever see. It was a look that Mana was unfortunately all too familiar with, one that greeted him every morning when he gazed into the mirror, courtesy of the Black Order.

"I didn't want to be found," Neah countered, making absolutely certain to keep his facial features stoic and free from emotion of any kind. After all, the words that he spoke were only partially true. In the beginning he had pined for Mana but, after awhile, time and constant suffering had turned him bitter. And steeled his resolve to never again rely on anyone for anything. When you only relied on yourself there was less of a chance for disappointment. And even then you only had yourself to blame if things didn't go according to plan.

"Hold up," Cross said gruffly, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them. And, under his scrutinizing gaze, the similarities between Mana and the boy became blaringly obvious and not something that anyone could deny. "What the hell is going on? You said that his last name is Walker… does that mean…"

Mana nodded his head in affirmative, anticipating the question that Cross was going to ask and knowing that Neah wasn't likely to admit the truth of the matter to Cross. In fact, he seemed perfectly content to simply ignore the red haired teen's existence entirely. "Neah is my younger brother."

Neah made a face as Mana explained the truth of their relationship to Cross but opted not to comment.

"I didn't know you even had a brother," Cross said, his gaze shifting between them every so often. As though unable to believe what his eyes were telling him to be true.

A slightly bitter light rose to shine in Mana's eyes at this point, making it appear as though he were being haunted by the ghosts of his past. It was a strange look and one that was wholly unlike the normally kind young man. "The Order isn't exactly conducive to family life y'know."

Recalling his companion's fairly 'eventful' arrival at the Black Order, Cross nodded his head. He knew that statement was true but, having no familial connections of his own, it was a mute point.

"You could have fought against them," Neah said, the soft tone of his voice undermined by the fierceness contained within. "You didn't have to go and you damn sure didn't have to stay. You didn't have to take up arms," he gestured toward Mana's Innocence with a flourish of his hand. "And fight for them. Become one of them."

The haunted look returned to Mana's brown eyes as he heard these accusing words spoken by his little brother; the younger sibling who had idolized him as a child. "You have no idea what I've been through…"

"I don't give a damn what you've been through," Neah spat in a slightly feral tone, his eyes flashing gold as the mask fell away. "You left me in that hellhole alone… with no one but THEM." He uttered this last word as though it left a foul taste in his mouth.

"Neah… If there was anything I could have… That wasn't what I wanted to happen, I swear…"

"Enough," the boy said, his now golden eyes narrowing as his gaze swept back and forth between the two of them. His mind had been reeling ever since this encounter with the one person that he had been convinced he would never see again. However, now his decision had been made. He knew what he had to do and the path that he had to take. "You're a member of the Black Order now… Brother or not I have no choice in the matter…"

At this point the boy's appearance underwent a rather drastic change; his skin tone went from slightly pale to ashen gray and his hair from a rich mahogany to charcoal gray. And, at the same time that his skin paled, a row of small cross shaped stigmata seemed to etch themselves across his forehead.

"What the devil?" Cross exclaimed, actually taking a step back from the youth. He had never borne witness to such a transformation and for some reason the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. And a strange energy seemed to be swirling around Judgment, as though the Innocence was sensing the same danger that Cross himself felt.

"The Order knows nothing of us," Neah said, his gaze not focusing on one single object but seemingly dancing around. There was somewhat of a smile on the boy's face, as though he were enjoying a private joke. "Lord Millennium ordered that we remain hidden however…"

"Lord Millennium!" Cross suddenly exploded, anger causing him to forget all about his caution. Striding forward he made a move to seize the boy by the collar but the kid seemed to anticipate the move, dancing to the side before the red head managed to grasp the fabric of his shirt. "Are you honestly standing there and proclaiming that you work for that fat ass? Despite knowing that we're Exorcists and in league with the Black Order?"

Neah opted not to dignify this with a response, merely gazing at Cross through disdainful golden eyes.

"Why you little…" Grasping the butt of his Anti-Akuma firearm Cross leapt forward, planning to teach the arrogant punk a lesson that he wouldn't soon forget. "I don't give a fuck if you are Walker's brother, that won't stop me from kicking your ass."

A smirk played across the boy's face as he watched Cross approach him almost idly. The red headed Exorcist got to within a mere two feet of the now gray haired youth before an eerie melody filled the air. And as the music that seemed to originate from nowhere filled the air, Cross found himself unable to proceed further. It was as though he had run headlong into an invisible barrier.

"That was pitiful," Neah taunted, gazing at Cross intently as the young Exorcist fought against the barrier. "Please tell me that you aren't the best that the Black Order has to offer? Because if that's the case, then this war is going to be pathetically short and one sided."

"Damn you brat," Cross snarled as he struggled to reach the smirking teen who was less that three feet away from him.

"You could try using your Innocence," Neah suggested, smirk resolutely in place. "Not that I think you'll fare much better, but it's worth trying at least."

The fact that his opponent was offering him strategy tips in the middle of their battle caused Cross to grow so angry that he actually saw red. Once again, holding up the large firearm, Cross pulled the trigger several times in rapid succession.

"That's better," the arrogant youth stated as the bullets pierced the barrier, shattering it and flying toward him. Using a couple of thin golden threads Neah disintegrated the bullets, the smile on his face only growing wider as the red head's irritation grew. "It would have been beyond a tragedy to kill you without allowing you a chance to at least breech the barrier."

"You damn little…" Growls. "arrogant son of a bitch…" Snarls. "I'm going to murder you." Narrowing his red eyes in rage, Cross rushed toward the boy, swinging his fist in the direction of Neah's face.

"Now that's no way to behave during a battle," Neah chastised mildly as he effortlessly dodged the attack. "You're losing your temper and as a result, your giving me even more ammunition to use against you."

"That's it!" Raising Judgment, the Exorcist leveled it at the younger teen's head. "I've had enough of these childish games…"

Neah' cruel golden eyes narrowed at this point as he prepared to launch an earnest attack toward Cross. Up until this point, he had merely been fending off Cross' attacks but now that he had gained a feel for what the red headed fool was capable of, he was prepared to end this once and for all.

"Neah! Cross!" Seemingly coming to his senses, Mana quickly stepped between the two combatants. The fact that his brother was actually fighting against them had caught him off guard and caused a tremendous amount of internal strife, but the sight of the two of them preparing to kill one another effectively brought him back to the present. Just in time to see exactly how dire the situation truly was. "Both of you stop it!"

Slightly taken aback by this low and commanding tone, both combatants simultaneously focused their gazes on Mana.

Confident that Cross wouldn't interfere, Mana strode over to the spot where his brother was standing, seizing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him forward. When there was but mere inches separating them, Mana spoke, his tone leaving absolutely no room for argument or protest. "What has gotten into you? You're not the boy that I remember…"

"You're right," Neah said, pulling free from his brother's grip and putting some distance between them. His tone was harsh but there was also the hint of a slightly dejected note in his voice. "I'm not."

Neah resumed his normal appearance as he abruptly turned away from the two Exorcists. He could feel a familiar summons and it wasn't one that he could ignore… at least not for very long. Berating himself for ever having revealed himself to the pair of them, he made his way back toward the bushes from which he had emerged.

"Neah…" Mana called out as the boy suddenly turned and began walking away. "Please… wait…"

The boy cast one last, scathing look in their direction before he stepped behind the bushes, the haunting music from before filling the air as he vanished from sight. Mana rushed forward, in an attempt to catch up to his brother, but when he reached the bushes, it was to find no sight of Neah.

It was almost as though he had vanished into thin air.

"Hey!" a voice called out from some distance away. The two teens turned their attention toward the approaching figure, noting that it was one of the members of their group.

"Please don't say anything about what just happened," Mana said, hating himself for the pleading note that was contained within his voice. He had never asked anything of his comrade but this was different. He had to find out exactly what had happened to his brother to turn him into the arrogant, seemingly cold youth that had been more than ready to kill the both of them.

Cross debated this request for a moment, watching as the man drew closer to them. It was unheard of for Mana to ask for anything and the red head vaguely contemplated all of the ways that he could use this to his advantage but then abruptly shook his head. "I won't acknowledge that brat's existence until I can beat the snot out of him."

Which was Cross speak for 'I'll help you get to the bottom of this'.

"Thank you," Mana said in a quiet voice.

"I'm so glad that I found the two of you… thought the Akuma might have gotten you."

Cross rolled his eyes in the man's direction. "You worry entirely too much Tiedoll."

A/N - End of the second chapter and the three teens aren't exactly on good terms. Hope that you enjoyed this installment, please leave a review and tell me what you thought.


	3. Black and White

Disclaimer - I do not own DGM

Chapter Three - Black and White

"I worry too much huh?" the older Exorcist repeated, one eyebrow arched as he gazed at the red haired teen who stood before him. He couldn't fail to notice the condescending tone in Cross' voice but chose to be diplomatic and ignore it. Since he had learned long ago that it did absolutely no good to reprimand the boy for his lack of respect. In fact, if anything, it made him that much worse. "Can't help but worry with the two of you around… magnets for trouble, the both of you."

"Well it's not like we go out looking for trouble," Mana said, struggling to keep his emotions in check as he spoke. He knew Tiedoll would know that something was amiss if he didn't add his two cents into this conversation, but it was all he could do to keep his voice steady. After four years he had once again came face to face with his younger brother… only to find that he was a complete stranger.

Someone that Mana didn't know and for the life of him couldn't understand. The two of them had been so close in their youth but now it seemed that time and distance had formed a gap between them.

"Of course not," Tiedoll said, shaking his head. "It just somehow miraculously seems to find you."

"That's right," Cross stated before turning back to Mana, a somewhat cocky grin appearing on his face. "And I believe that the win goes to me today Walker."

"You cheated," Mana said without so much as a split second's hesitation.

"The two of you are hopeless," Tiedoll said after a moment of listening to their banter back and forth. "Completely and utterly hopeless."

"It's been said before," Mana quipped, shrugging his shoulders and attempting to act as nonchalant as possible. "And I'm sure it'll be said again."

"Without a doubt," Tiedoll said, nodding his head in the affirmative. After all, this was something that he personally said several times on a daily basis, so there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that it would be said again. In fact, the chances were very good that he would be the one to say it the next time as well. Such was the way of life sometimes. "Anyway, we should probably be heading back to the others… they may begin to worry if we linger here too long."

Cross actually scoffed at this comment. "They aren't going to worry about us," he muttered under his breath.

Mana was inclined to believe the words of the red haired teen but turned in the direction of their make-shift camp none the less. Now that the Akuma had been destroyed and his brother had disappeared, there really wasn't any reason to remain in this area any longer.

Leading the way back, Mana's thoughts were squarely focused on his brother, the boy who had seemed so intent upon fighting with them. Thinking back, he mused about the strange transformation that Neah had undergone, attempting to form a reasonable theory as to what it was. His first inclination had been to think Innocence but by Neah's own admission the boy worked for the Earl so that was out of the question.

So what other explanation was there?

It wasn't like anything that Mana had ever borne witness to before but of course he wouldn't be able to ask anyone at the Order about it. Because of the simple fact that, should they learn of the boy's existence, Neah would be deemed a threat.

And, threat though he may be, the boy was still Mana's little brother and the teen had every intention of protecting him.

* * *

Neah couldn't keep his thoughts from returning to the encounter with his brother and the other Exorcist as he expertly navigated the maze like city that seemed more like his home than anywhere else ever had. He had long ago resigned himself to the fact that he would never see his brother again so this meeting had thrown his world into chaos.

"I never expected this," he muttered to himself as he made his way toward the tower that was located at the top of a hill, the highest point in the city. This was where Lord Millennium always chose to meet with them and he traveled toward this destination without any conscious thought. Almost as though it were second nature. "Mana an Exorcist…"

The youth's eyes held a troubled look as he reached out a gloved hand toward the door that led into the tower.

"What is it that is keeping you in such deep thought Neah?"

The voice that spoke this question aloud was barely above a whisper and sounded as though it belonged to a small child. His gaze shifting, Neah focused his gray eyes on a girl, tiny in stature and dressed all in black. A frilly black Lolita dress came down to just below her knees, with a high collar and three quarter length sleeves, and she wore a choker around her neck that was decorated with a black gothic cross. Two portions of her short brown hair were pulled into high pig-tails, the rest left loose to frame her pixyish face. And in front of each of the short pig-tails a black lily was positioned.

"Hello Jannali," Neah said, offering a slight bow to the girl. He knew that anyone who laid eyes on her would think that she was around the age of eleven or twelve but that was quite deceiving when in actuality at fifteen she was a year older than Neah himself. "I'm not really contemplating anything in particular."

"That is such a lie," a cheerful voice called out, joining the conversation uninvited. "And you know it Neah-pet."

"Noah, I swear…" Neah muttered as the older boy stepped around from behind the door, where he had seemingly been hiding. Dressed similarly to Neah, though his tuxedo was black and his vest and tie were an icy blue, the teen named Noah had brownish hair with blond highlights and eyes that were strangely mismatched. His left eye was a vivid green while his right eye was palest blue, a fact that made him truly an odd looking fellow.

Not that he really seemed to mind. In fact he seemed to revel in this fact, embracing his weirdness with open arms.

"Well you shouldn't," Noah said, a cheery grin plastered all over his face. He could tell that the younger boy was irritated but that only increased his desire to give the kid a hard time. After all it was so much more fun when they fought back. "It isn't nice."

Neah's eyes flashed golden as he narrowed them, staring at Noah with a fierce expression.

"Noah," Jannali said in her whispery quiet voice, her gaze shifting from Neah to the older boy. "One of these days you're going to take your joking a step too far."

"Probably so," Noah conceded, with a shrug of his shoulders. There wasn't even a hint of remorse in his voice; quiet the opposite actually. He still sounded amused beyond all reason. "But until I do, I shall continue to have as much fun with our dear little Neah-pet as possible."

"Don't your powers make you wary of this?" Jannali questioned, noticing the fact that Neah seemed to be growing more and more irritated with the situation. Not sure exactly how long the younger teen would be able to keep his anger in check the girl sought to distract Noah and hopefully talk some sense into him. Before something happened that Lord Millennium would make sure they all regretted.

Noah shook his head, actually growing serious for a brief moment. "If you're implying that our little Musician is going to do me harm that's something that I'll just have to find out the hard way, much to my chagrin. Because for some strange reason he's all but immune to my powers. I can get brief flashes, which is how I know that he was lying earlier, but the visions are rarely clear enough for me to make any sense out of."

"Good," Neah snapped, his eyes still narrowed and a hint of annoyance still contained within his voice. "I don't like the thought of you knowing everything about me."

"You really shouldn't be that way," Noah said, the brief bout of seriousness short lived as he reverted back to his normal, overly cheerful self. "We're your family after all."

Neah scoffed as he moved to step past the two of them and enter the tower. "Family… like that means anything."

"Hold it there," Noah said, reaching out and making a move to grab Neah by the shoulder. Whirling around with an almost feral growl the boy moved away from Noah, who quickly moved and positioned himself between the younger teen and the door. "What?" he demanded.

"I know about your little meeting earlier," Noah said, his voice barely above a whisper in case someone else was lurking about. His words were meant for the Musician alone. "So why exactly did you decide to disobey Lord Millennium's orders against revealing ourselves to those fools from the Black Order?"

His thoughts briefly flashed back to his brother but Neah managed to keep his features impassive. A skill that he had been perfecting for years. "That's none of your damn business Noah. Tell Lord Millennium if you want and if not then get out of my way." This said, the mahogany haired teen pushed his way past Noah and entered the tower.

"Looks like I struck an unintentional nerve with that one," Noah mused, running a hand through his hair and wincing slightly as Neah slammed the door behind him.

"Indeed," Jannali said, her brown eyes troubled as her gaze shifted toward the closed door. "So you don't have any idea what exactly transpired between the Musician and the Exorcists?"

Noah shook his head as he reached out toward the door, hoping that the angry boy hadn't locked it out of spite. "I just know that he encountered two of them… no idea what happened after that."

"It could have been harmless," Jannali suggested as the two of them entered the tower. "After all, we don't know that he revealed anything about the Clan of Noah. He could have just been checking out the competition or, though it seems unlikely in his case, maybe even having a little fun."

"Maybe," Noah said, although he didn't sound overly convinced.

"GRAPEFRUIT!"

The sound of two voices blended together into one rang out through the corridor, causing Noah to cringe and clench his hands together into fists. Jannali covered her mouth with one hand and watched in bemusement as a pair of figures bounded down the hallway toward the spot where they were standing.

One of the figures was a slender girl, with blond hair that was streaked with a bright shade of pink. She was dressed in a short black skirt that came down to mid-thigh, underneath of which she wore a hot pink crinoline skirt, which made it stand out away from her body. She also wore a black blouse that was decorated here and there with hot pink ribbons.

The second figure was an equally slender boy, with slightly spiked black hair that was streaked with light blue. He was dressed in a drabber fashion, with black trousers and a black button down shirt. The shirt was left open at the collar and cuffs, several chains subtlety adorned around his neck.

"The 14th told us that you were looking for us Grapefruit," the twins said in unison, eyeing Noah through identical blue eyes. The redundancy of having a member of the Clan of Noah who had actually been given the name Noah hadn't been lost on the twins and once, when Noah had angrily declared that he was going to change his name, the two of them had decided that 'Grapefruit' was a good name for him.

Mainly because he hated it with a fiery passion.

"I swear I'm going to kill them…" Noah snarled, all traces of his good natured attitude now gone. Replaced by an expression of utter rage. "All three of them."

"Lord Millennium would frown upon that," Jannali reminded the young man before turning and skipping off. Much as she would like to stick around and witness the fight that was about to break out she needed to catch up to the Musician and make sure that he was alright.

Because Noah's words and the vision that he'd had were worrying her.

Making her way quickly down the corridor, it wasn't long before Jannali managed to catch up with the Musician. The teen was striding down the hall, with his hands shoved into his pockets. However, he immediately picked up on the fact that someone was coming up behind him. Whirling around quickly, he placed his back to the wall.

Jannali completely ignored this movement, having grown accustomed to it in the time that the Musician had been a member of their family. It was a quirk that he had always had and one that the girl was curious to know the origins of but had never got up the nerve to ask. "It's just me," she said needlessly, her voice, like always, just barely above a whisper.

"Did you abandon that idiot Noah?" Neah questioned, allowing Jannali to walk past him before resuming his stroll down the corridor.

"Ember and Frost are keeping him company," Jannali replied, a smirk appearing on her face as she envisioned the fight that was more than likely raging as they spoke.

Neah smirked. "Serves him right."

"Um Neah," Jannali began but the Musician interrupted her words. "We should go… Don't want to keep Lord Millennium waiting."

Despite her desire to question her brother, Jannali knew that he was right. Lord Millennium wouldn't be happy if they were late to this little dinner party of his. "I'll just have to ask him about it later," she thought to herself as the two of them made their way to the dining hall.

A/N - End of chapter three and several OCs have been introduced. Hope that you enjoyed, please be kind enough to leave a review and tell me what you thought.


	4. Musings

Disclaimer - I do not own DGM

Chapter Four - Musings

After returning to camp with Tiedoll, the two teenaged Exorcists crawled back to their cots to salvage what sleep they could. Since they both knew that they would have to be up at sunrise, regardless of how little sleep that they managed to get, and everyone else had already returned to bed. For his part, Cross lost consciousness the moment his head came into contact with his pillow, as was evident by the obnoxious snoring that issued from beneath the blankets. Unfortunately for Mana, much to his chagrin, his thoughts were too preoccupied by his brother for him to be able to resume his state of blissful slumber.

Which all but assured that he would be in a foul mood when morning came.

"What happened to you Neah?" he thought to himself as he gazed up at the stars, thinking back to the somewhat shy youth that he had known, just beginning to emerge from his shell. The boy that Neah had been before their world was turned upside down.

By the very organization that he was now a part of.

Reaching out with one hand, Mana gripped the pendant that was hanging about his neck, gripping it tightly.

"All because of this…"

FLASHBACK

"Hurry up Neah or we're going to be late for school… AGAIN." Holding his books in one hand Mana waited slightly less than patiently at the door for his younger brother to catch up. His hand gripped the doorknob and he had already pulled the door open, anxious to be on his way. They had already been late twice that week and the fifteen year old didn't want to set a new record by being late for a third day in a row.

After all it was only Wednesday.

"You could have went on ahead," a rather disgruntled voice called out a second before ten year old Neah appeared in the entryway. With his mahogany hair tousled about, it was obvious that the boy hadn't been awake for very long. And was in a decidedly grumpy mood. "You didn't have to wait for me Mana, I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself y'know."

"Yea, yea," Mana said, waving his hand dismissively. He was grateful for the fact that shy little Neah was beginning to come out of his shell, if only around him, but there were times when this was an annoyance that he'd rather not deal with. And today was one such time. "Now let's go… I'm tired of being late."

"Whatever," Neah said, the scowl still resolutely on his face. Personally, he didn't really care if they were late to school. If it were up to him he wouldn't even be going in the first place. The boy could think of countless ways he would prefer to spend his time but Mana was forever making him go. Hence the reason why his older brother hadn't simply gone on ahead of him.

Mana was afraid that if he did then Neah would simply skip school. Of course this fear wasn't entirely unfounded.

"Not a bad thought," the mahogany haired youth mused however, all thoughts of this vanished as he heard a sharp voice call out behind him. "Neah!" The boy jumped slightly, turning so that he was facing the man who had addressed him, in a tone which demanded instant attention. The shy youth returned in full force, as was always the case when confronted by the man that terrified him. "Yes sir?" the boy said, making sure to keep his voice meek and completely free from the attitude that Mana had informed him that he was starting to develop.

Because their father wouldn't tolerate it.

"Shouldn't you have left for school already?" the dark haired man demanded, gazing at the boy that stood before him through narrowed eyes.

"We were just leaving Father," Mana said quickly, stepping over and positioning himself between his father and his little brother. The man had never been overly fond of his younger son and would often look for any reason he could find to strike the boy. This was something that Mana had learned long ago to prevent by putting himself between them. So far it had never failed to work but the teen didn't plan on sticking around long enough to find out if his luck would hold out. Grabbing Neah by the hand, and silently pleading with the kid not to make a big deal about it, the brown haired teen began walking toward the door that he had left open.

But he only made it as far as the threshold when he was suddenly seized by the arm. Whoever was grasping his upper arm pulled so fiercely that the teen almost lost his grip on his brother's hand but Neah seemed determined not to release him. Glancing up through wide brown eyes his gaze fell upon a tall, broad shouldered man dressed all in black. The man glanced down at the pendant that Mana was wearing around his neck and nodded his head ever so slightly. "I knew it," he muttered, seemingly more to himself than to the boy whose arm he still held in a vice-like grip.

"Let go of me," Mana demanded at the same time that his father stepped forward. "Excuse me but what the hell do you think you're doing with my son?"

"The boy is no longer your concern," the man said in an even tone, giving Mana's arm another vicious tug. This one succeeded in pulling him free from his younger brother and Neah screamed as Mana was pulled out the door.

"MANA!" the ten year old screamed out in an anguished and at the same time frantic tone of voice, making a move to run after his brother. "NO MANA, YOU CAN'T LEAVE! MANA PLEASE!" He took a few hasty steps toward the door, determined not to let the man get away but this put to an end as his father rushed past him, shoving the child so hard that he fell back, hitting his head against the wall.

END FLASHBACK

"That was the day that I was taken to the Order," Mana mused, his hand still gripping the pendant that he wore around his neck. "The day that changed both the lives of myself and my brother forever."

And by all outward appearances it hadn't changed Neah's life for the better.

"Is there something the matter Mana?" a kind voice questioned, causing Mana to blink his eyes several times as he just now realized that someone was standing beside his makeshift bed. Granted it was nightfall, which made visibility virtually nonexistent but at the same time he was trained to be on the alert at all times and yet this man had managed to sneak up on him. Which was completely unacceptable and something that he knew could possibly get him killed. Inwardly berating himself for having allowed the man so close without even noticing his presence Mana replied, "It's nothing Tiedoll… I was just lost in thought."

For his part, Tiedoll was fairly certain that the teenager was lying to him but the man was also fairly certain that Mana wouldn't tell him what was really going on. So he merely offered the boy a smile before turning to walk away. "Well you should probably wrap up your thoughts and get some sleep. We'll be leaving soon after sunup you know."

"I know," Mana grumbled, raking his hand through his hair. "Believe me I know."

* * *

Morning arrived far too quickly, as far as Mana was concerned. It seemed as though he had only just managed to fall asleep when he felt someone poking at his side. He could see the sunlight, which easily pierced through his thin blanket, but he didn't want to acknowledge the fact that it was morning already. Clenching his eyes tightly closed, seeking to shut out the world with this motion, he wished that he could have just a little more time for sleep.

"Damn it Walker," Cross growled in a low and somewhat threatening voice, beginning to grow annoyed with his companion. He had half a mind to just leave him there and return to headquarters without him. "If you don't wake the fuck up, I swear to God, I'll leave your ass here."

"I'm amazed you haven't been kicked out of the Order yet Cross," Mana commented dryly as he pulled the covers from over his head and stared drolly at his companion. "Y'know we are technically affiliated with the Church right?"

"I know," Cross snarled, turning his back on the other teen. Now that Mana was awake the red haired teen was more than happy to ignore his existence entirely. Or at least until there was another bet to be made. "I just don't give two shits."

"Of course you don't…" He wasn't at all happy about it but Mana managed to drag himself out of bed. Heinously uncomfortable though it may be, he would much rather remain there owing to the fact that he had gotten maybe an hour and a half of sleep.

Which wasn't anywhere near enough.

"Rise and shine everyone!" Tiedoll called out as he entered their campsite, large sketchpad in hand. There was a broad smile spread across his face, which made Mana groan and have to resist the urge to punch him in the nose for being so damn cheerful at this unholy hour of the morning.

"I'll rise," Mana grumbled, packing up his makeshift pallet and preparing for the trip back to the Order. A trip that he was dreading but would make none the less. "But I damn sure don't have to shine."

"Well aren't you cheery?" Tiedoll commented, eyeing the younger Exorcist over the top of his glasses. They had fallen down the bridge of his nose and, with his hands otherwise occupied, he found that he couldn't really do anything about that fact at the moment. Not that he really cared all that much to begin with, there were too many other things that took precedence.

"No," Mana deadpanned, still consumed with thoughts of his brother and feeling rather disgruntled owing to his lack of sleep. Those two things together were serving to put him in a rather foul mood.

"What the hell's put you in such a good mood anyway?" Cross demanded, much like Mana growing rather irritated with Tiedoll's completely uncalled for cheerfulness. It was too early in the morning for that shit.

"I just spent the morning painting the most beautiful sunrise," Tiedoll replied, seemingly un-phased by Cross' foul mood… as well as his foul mouth. Holding up the oversized paper that he held in his hands, he revealed to the two teens a rather breathtaking painting of the sun rising above the horizon.

It was a rather good painting, as far as that went, but neither boy could bring themselves to care too greatly at this given point in time. The polite thing to do would have been to at least comment about the picture but neither Mana nor Cross had it in them to do so. So they merely shrugged simultaneously and went back to packing up their things for the trip back to headquarters.

Completely used to such reactions from the two teens, Tiedoll merely offered them a smile and went on about his merry way. Walking across the meadow where the group had spent the night, he called out cheerfully to other Exorcists that he met.

"So what's on your mind?" Cross practically demanded as he and Mana finished packing their things. Due to the fact that he always had such a difficult time waking up in the mornings Mana had perfected the art of high speed packing, thus he could sleep late and still be ready to depart quicker than anyone else.

"I was just thinking about Neah," Mana replied, his voice low so that none of the others would overhear. This conversation wasn't for public consumption and Mana would hate to have to kill one of his comrades, so it was best that they didn't overhear. "I want to know what made him go to the Earl's side."

Cross shrugged, still determined not to acknowledge the mahogany haired brat's existence until he was able to beat that smirk off the kid's face. "So how exactly do you plan on finding this out? Asking the brat is probably out of the question."

"I plan on researching that strange transformation that he underwent," Mana replied, having decided on this course of action during his sleepless hours the previous night. That seemed like the logical place to begin the search but Mana held no illusions that it would be an easy endeavor. Which was why he was about to speak words that all but got caught in his throat. A carefully worded request for help. "And I could really use your help…"

For a moment all Cross could do was stare at his companion but then, once he recovered somewhat, he offered Mana a curt nod. He would never admit this fact, especially not to his rival, but he was just as curious as the other teen about the transformation. Because it was obvious that the younger Walker had powers that they didn't have an explanation for… and the red head didn't like being in the dark about anything.

"Thanks," Mana muttered, more grateful than he cared to admit.

A/N - End of yet another chapter, hope that you enjoyed. Thanks to all those who have reviewed the previous chapters and special thanks to my beta Howlingwolf94! I appreciate all of the help that you've given and don't worry about the delay. I know that things come up. Til next time please be kind enough to leave a review on your way out.


	5. Part of the Family

Disclaimer - I do not own DGM nor any of the characters. The Noah OCs are, however, mine.

Chapter Five - Part of the Family

Sitting alone in the parlor of the mansion, a single gas lamp casting a pale and flickering light around the room, Neah couldn't keep his thoughts from wandering back to the fact that his long lost brother, the person that he had been convinced he would never see again, was actually an Exorcist. Of course he had always known that Mana was different from other people but, even after joining the ranks of the Family of Noah, he had never made the connection. That the heirloom necklace Mana had been given by their parents was actually a piece of Innocence that had been shaped into a cross. Had their parents been aware of the significance of the artifact in their possession or had they been ignorant of it's true importance? An image of the couple whom he had loathed with every fiber of his being formed in his mind's eye and the teen was forced to concede that, no, they hadn't been aware of what was in their possession.

They were too ignorant to have possessed such knowledge. It had to have been mere coincidence, as well as a strange twist of fate, that they had been in possession of the Innocence that Mana had been destined for.

"Neah…"

The sound of this whispery soft voice served to bring Neah out of his reverie as his senses once again resumed functioning. Glancing over at the door Neah watched as it slowly opened and a familiar figure poked her head inside. He had been too absorbed with his thoughts to hear the knock but was certain that there had been one. For the simple fact that Jannali was over polite and would never dream of entering a room without knocking first. By all outward appearances she'd had a proper upbringing that was wholly unlike the world that Neah himself had known as a young child.

For which he envied her at times.

"What is it Janna?" Neah asked quietly, using the nickname that she reserved for him alone. If anyone else called her anything other than her full name she refused to answer to it but for Neah she made an exception.

Stepping into the room, Jannali closed the door behind herself quietly before making her way toward the armchair where Neah was sitting. Coming to stand before her younger 'brother', Jannali gazed at him through somewhat concerned brown eyes. "You've been in here for ages Neah… Ember said that you came here last night after our meal with Lord Millennium and no one's seen you since." And while her youngest sibling was notorious for wanting his personal space it was still highly unusual for him to disappear for such a long period of time. "What is it that has you so upset?"

Neah shook his head, having learned long ago to keep his problems to himself and not share them with others. No matter how much he might wish for someone in whom to share his sorrows. In his entire life Mana had been the only one that he would ever confide in and that hadn't worked out so well as far as he was concerned. But there was one positive thing that had came out of the situation. It had taught him that he was the only one that he could depend on and, though it was a hard learned lesson, it was one that he took thoroughly to heart. "It's nothing that you need concern yourself with Janna… I just have some things that I need to think about, that's all."

"You've thought enough," a new and decidedly jovial voice called out, entering into the conversation completely uninvited. Not that this was anything new, considering who the intruder was. Striding across the room, Noah abruptly seized the smaller male by the wrist, pulling him from the chair and to his feet. "We're all going out to have some fun and you're going to come with us Neah-pet. And I'm not going to take no for an answer this time because you've been moping around long enough."

Snarling in a feral manner Neah pulled his wrist free from the older Noah's grip, glaring at him as though he wished for nothing more than to be able to attack. If only that wasn't something that Lord Millennium frowned upon since this knowledge was the only thing holding him back. And as it was it was taking every ounce of self restraint that he possessed. "Do Not Touch Me," he growled, enunciating each word so that it would be perfectly clear, even to someone such as Noah.

Completely un-phased, Noah didn't lose the grin that was spread across his face as he held up his hands in a placating manner. "Alright Neah-pet, I'm sorry. I forgot about that little quirk of yours so no hard feelings, okay?"

Neah continued to glare, thinking to himself that there were definitely hard feelings. All he'd wanted was to be left alone to his thoughts but now it was looking more and more likely that this was going to be impossible. Tilting his head slightly to the side, the youngest member of the Family of Noah's eyes widened the slightest bit as understanding dawned upon him. A smirk spread across his face as he gazed at Noah with a knowing expression in his intelligent gray eyes. "You need me to use the Ark don't you?"

"We don't NEED you to use the Ark," Noah said carefully, not really wanting to give the Noah of Will any more power over them than that which he already wielded. That and the kid didn't need any more ammunition to use against him the next time he opted to have a little fun with the boy. Which would more than likely be soon because, for some reason, he was simply unable to help himself. Neah' reactions were always so great. "But… it would be helpful if you did."

"So you don't need me huh Grapefruit?" Neah said in a calm and even tone, baiting the brown haired teen with his use of the much hated nickname that the twins had given him. A nickname that he loathed above all others. "Well then have fun on your little outing and leave me out of it."

Noah opened his mouth to say something to the stubborn boy but was halted before he even had time to utter a single word. As though summoned by some other worldly force, the sound of people walking down the hallway could be heard, despite the fact that the door to the parlor was closed. A few seconds later, the door burst open once more and two more people entered the room, one bouncing in as though on a sugar high while the other sauntered in at a much more leisurely pace. "Grapefruit!" the twins said simultaneously, their voices blending together as always.

They were incredibly in tune with one another, even for twins, and neither ever spoke separately.

Clenching his teeth together and thinking that this wasn't going at all the way that he had planned, Noah turned away from Neah and locked his gaze on Ember and Frost. His mismatched eyes were narrowed in displeasure; they were the absolute last people he had wanted to see right now. "Can't the two of you speak normally?"

"No," they chirped together, offering him identical grins that only served to further his annoyance. This said, the twins turned their attention to Neah, whose gaze was shifting back and forth between the group. "Come and play with us…"

"Why can't you all just get it through your heads that I don't want to come along?" Neah demanded, positioning himself so that he was able to see each of them. He had never liked having anyone stand behind him, it made him paranoid. And with this group it was even more frightening than normal.

"You shouldn't speak that way to your family Neah," a deep and slightly reproachful voice called out, causing Neah to jump and whirl around. A tall man entered the room through the door that had been left open by the twins, looking a few years older than Noah and obviously the oldest among them. His short black hair was slicked back, without a single hair out of place, and he was dressed in an elegant black tuxedo, the only trace of white the crisp shirt that he was wearing underneath. Dark brown, almost black, eyes gazed at the youngest Noah with an almost stern expression. "They're merely trying to include you in their fun."

"They're trying to drive me insane," Neah retorted in an even tone, not really appreciating the lecture.

"Aiden," Noah said, offering Neah a grin before turning his mismatched eyes toward the older male. "Neah-pet doesn't want to play nice with us…"

"That was childish," Neah stated in an emotionless monotone. None of this was making him any less reluctant to join in their little game but it was growing increasingly more obvious with each word that was spoken that he wasn't going to be given a choice in the matter. He could either go with them now or else listen to them whine about it until he finally relented. Aiden opened his mouth, looking as though he were preparing to give his younger sibling yet another lecture, but Neah halted him by holding up one hand. "Fine, you win. If it will get the lot of you off my back then I'll come along."

"Aw," Noah said, grinning from ear to ear as he heard the rather gruff words of the younger male. He had succeeded in getting his way and was happy about it, despite the fact that Neah was quite obviously annoyed with him. "Neah-pet finally decided to play nice."

"Indeed Grapefruit," Neah said, refusing to take the bait this time around. He was annoyed enough as it was and refused to allow Noah's words to increase his anger. That was what he wanted after all and Neah refused to play into this ploy. "Now if you want to use the Ark then get a move on."

Noah gestured toward the door, a smile on his face and a twinkle in his mismatched eyes. "Why don't you lead the way, my little Musician?"

Neah narrowed his eyes.

The very air in the room seemed to radiate with the boy's anger and Noah quickly acknowledged the fact that he had taken the joke a little too far this time. Holding up his hands and hoping that the Musician wouldn't strike him down where he stood Noah quickly made his way toward the door. "I'll take that as a no…"

"That wasn't just a no," Jannali commented.

"That was a hell no Grapefruit," Ember and Frost added in their dual voice, grins spreading across both of their faces as their identical blue eyes sparkled.

"I've heard just about enough from the two of you," Noah called out over his shoulder, wishing that the twins weren't coming along for this little excursion. The original plan had been for he and Jannali to take Neah out and attempt to get his mind off whatever it was that seemed to be bothering him. Unfortunately it had evolved into something else entirely and now three extra people had joined in.

None of whom had been invited.

"Never enough," the twins piped up as they fell into step behind their favorite victim. He was more fun to torment than any of the others, and they were wary of Neah at the moment, so Ember and Frost opted to hang close to Noah.

"I swear…" Noah muttered darkly under his breath.

"Well you shouldn't," Neah quipped as he fell into step behind the group, using Noah's own words against him. "It isn't nice."

Noah flinched as the kid used his own words from the day before against him while Jannali, Ember and Frost all burst out into uncontrollable laughter. Jannali was the only one of the trio who actually got the reference since that had happened before the others arrived in the parlor; the twins were more or less laughing because they enjoyed the strife between their siblings.

"Can we just get on with this?" Noah demanded, a hint of the irritation that he was feeling appearing in his voice.

"I don't know," Neah said, smirking as he followed along behind the others. He noticed the fact that Aiden turned a warning look in his direction but chose to ignore it in favor of taunting Noah a little more. "Can we?"

"Now who's being childish?" Noah said as he led the way to the control room of the Ark, sounding decidedly petulant as he posed this question to whomever happened to be listening. Though, it appeared that no one was. As expected he received no answer as he and his siblings moved to stand in front of a black grand piano that was positioned in the center of the room. They were all well aware of the fact that Neah wouldn't use his powers to move the Ark unless he could keep all of them within sight.

There wasn't one among their ranks who knew the real reason why he refused to allow anyone at his back but of course they all had their theories. Which they would discuss amongst one another but never with the Musician himself.

Because none of them had yet grown weary of living. And despite being a part of the Family of Noah there were still some things that one knew better than to bring up.

That particular quirk of the Musician's was one of those things.

Sitting down at the piano Neah poised his gloved fingers over the ebony and ivory keys, his gaze flicking over each member of his surrogate family in turn before he brought his hands down and began to play. Each of the Noah fell silent as the notes of the song swelled to fill the air, seemingly swirling with a strange energy. The Noah of Will closed his eyes as he lost himself to the music, imagining the destination that he desired and knowing that the Ark would obey his command and take him exactly where he wanted to go.

That was the one sure thing in a world filled to the brim with uncertainty.

A/N - End of another chapter and Neah is being picked on by his family… Hope that you enjoyed the chapter and special thanks to my beta Howlingwolf94!


	6. Noah Family Outing

Disclaimer - I do not own DGM

Chapter Six - Noah Family Outing

Once the final notes of the song faded away Neah got to his feet, turning slightly irritated golden eyes toward his assembled siblings. He noted, with more than a little satisfaction, that every single one of them had remained in front of the piano, despite the fact that he had closed his eyes during the song. It appeared as though they had learned that particular lesson if nothing else. Noah and Jannali were standing together while the taller male attempted to ignore the presence of the twins, who were gaining enjoyment by taunting him, nothing unusual for the two of them. Aiden was standing off to the side of the group, seemingly annoyed by the antics of the 'children', as he referred to them.

And yet he was still there.

"No one in this 'family' makes sense," Neah thought to himself as he straightened his tuxedo jacket. "We take dysfunctional to a whole new level entirely."

Were they able to read his thoughts the others would most likely tell him that this was what made them fun but Neah disagreed. In his opinion that was what made them all certifiable but he normally managed to keep this particular observation to himself. Unless one of them managed to seriously piss him off and then he was likely to say anything. Nothing was off limits at that point.

"Let's go have some fun!" Noah chimed up cheerfully as Neah held out his hand and summoned a door to the outside world. The blond haired male marveled at the boy's control over the Ark, which was even greater than that of Lord Millennium's despite the fact that he had only been with their family a short while. "Sometimes his powers really scare me," the Noah of Wisdom thought to himself as his gaze remained focused on Neah. The boy was still standing beside the piano, a stoic expression on his face. He had never been able to get a complete reading on this newest member of their family, a fact that only served to further the enigma of the so called extra member of their little family.

"What kind of fun?" the twins piped up in unison, each locking their blue eyed gaze on Noah. Neither had been involved in the original plan making so Ember and Frost had no idea exactly what they were doing. They had merely thought that following Noah would be entertaining, especially with the Musician involved because the two of them didn't exactly get along.

Not that the Musician really got along with any of them as far as that went.

"We're hunting for Innocence," the man stated calmly as he and Jannali led the way through the door that Neah had summoned. The twins pranced along close on their heels, holding hands, while Aiden traveled along at a dignified walk. This left only Neah behind in the Ark and, for the briefest of moments, the young male had to fight off the urge to lock them out of the Ark and leave them where they stood. Of course he realized that Lord Millennium would be most displeased if he stranded five members of the Noah Family out in the middle of nowhere which was the only reason why he ended up following along behind them.

"Can't believe that I'm actually doing this," Neah muttered to himself as he exited the Ark, the door sealing closed behind him. Not a problem for him, since he could summon another at his leisure, but the others… they were different. Which meant that they had best hope that they didn't irritate him too much on this little outing or they would be finding an alternative route back home.

Because, as the annoyance level grew, the amount that he cared about displeasing Lord Millennium would shrink. Regular as clockwork and without fail.

"Come on Neah-pet!" Noah called out, his cheery voice grating on the younger male's nerves even more than usual. "This mission is for your benefit so the least you could do is show at least a little interest in it."

"I'm not going to pretend like I care just because you think I should," Neah replied calmly as he made his way over to the spot where the others were standing. Noah had said that this was a mission but that didn't make any sense to the boy since it was absolutely unheard of for more than two members of the Family of Noah to be sent out on the same assignment.

The normal number was one.

Aiden turned around at this point, once again offering the youngest member of their family a stern and disapproving look. Which of course Neah pointedly chose to ignore as he came to a stop just out of arm's reach of any of them.

"So where's the Innocence oh seer of all things?" Neah said, his tone sarcastic as he turned taunting gray eyes toward the blond haired man.

If Noah was irritated by this he hid it well as he offered the Musician a bright smile. "My talents lie more with people than objects," he retorted, his voice as cheery as ever. His mismatched eyes seemed to twinkle as he gazed at the Musician. "So I guess we're just going to have to do things the old fashioned way and search for it."

"Let me know how that works out for you," Neah said, a bored expression appearing on his face. He didn't really have any interest in the Innocence and, even if that hadn't been the case, it didn't take five of them to track it down. As far as he was concerned this trip was just a tremendous waste of his time.

Time which could be better spent doing a multitude of other things.

"Oh no you don't Neah-pet," Noah said, walking over to the youngest of their group, though he did refrain from touching the boy this time around. Placing himself in front of the teen he endeavored to make it difficult for Neah to make a break for it… because he could tell that this was something that the kid had debated at one point of another. "You're going to help us with this mission… whether you want to or not."

Annoyed by the nickname, as well as the insistence that he help in this inane search for Innocence, Neah growled low in his throat. Not even making so much as a half hearted effort to hide the fact that his level of irritation was growing at an alarming pace. Aside from the encounter with his brother, which he was still reeling from, the Musician seldom went out on missions. He was left in control of the Ark, since it obeyed his powers more so than even Lord Millennium, and he was perfectly content with that arrangement. He'd had enough dealings with humanity and would much rather avoid it when at all possible. But of course none of the others knew exactly how much he despised the sub-humans so they insisted on trying to drag him with them whenever the opportunity presented its self. Normally he was able to avoid it but that hadn't been the case today, much to his chagrin.

"Fine," he muttered, shifting to his 'black' persona. "I'll help you find the Innocence and then you're all going to leave me alone for the remainder of the day."

It was obvious that a response wasn't required for this; it was a statement rather than an effort to make a deal and they all realized this fact.

"Deal Neah-pet," Noah said as he and the others shifted to their Noah forms. Normally when there was a chance that they would encounter the sub-humans they would hide their true appearance, not wanting to arouse suspicion since Lord Millennium wanted their existence to remain a secret from those idiotic Exorcists. Today was a different matter entirely however since Noah and Jannali had already decided that there would be no survivors. Things had been too dull as of late and they wanted a little excitement, which would be gained at the expense of the sub-humans.

And any Innocence found would be an added bonus.

Neah watched as the others assumed their true forms, his gaze shifting to each in turn. They were all similar in this form, though Noah was still the oddball of the group owing to his eyes. His left eye was the customary golden hue while his right eye was an eerie blood red. That set him apart from all of the others and was the subject of much speculation about the American member of the Family of Noah. The twins also looked different, their dark hair streaked with color, but that was due to the dye job that they had given themselves. It remained in place in either form.

"Come on Neah," Jannali said as she skipped up to him. Her first impulse was to grab him by the hand but she knew that this wouldn't be received well so she refrained from doing so. "This is going to be fun."

With a sigh the Musician offered the girl a forced smile, more out of habit than anything else. "Let's just get this over with so that I can go on with my life."

"Sub-humans are going to suffer!" the twins sang out in unison, skipping forward and holding each other by the hand. Identical grins were spread across their faces as they proceeded to lead the way toward the town where, rumor had it, Innocence was hiding. Or being hidden by someone. "Such fun!"

Neah watched as the others moved forward toward the path that would take them to the town that was situated in a valley below. His golden eyes followed their movements until they were all in front of him and out of arm's reach, with the exception of Jannali. She was the only one he would allow at his side, trusting her slightly more than the others since she was the one he'd spent the most time with since his arrival at the mansion of Lord Millennium, though he wouldn't allow even her to stand behind him.

"Cheer up Neah," Jannali said as the two of them followed along behind the others. "I know that he's annoying but Noah really did organize this little hunt to try and get your mind off whatever it is that's been bothering you."

"That doesn't make it less annoying," Neah countered.

"Who the hell…" the sound of a confused male voice echoed out as the group entered the town. "Wait… what the hell are you?" The man who had spoken had gotten a good look at the group of strangers and his eyes widened in fear.

"Your worst nightmare," Noah said, his voice cheery even as his eyes seemed to shine with a malevolent light. The red eye appeared to almost glow as the Noah of Wisdom walked up to the man, who seemed to be frozen in place. Reaching out Noah quickly hit him a couple of times in the chest and abdomen before stepping back, a sadistic grin spreading across his face.

The man seemed confused, the blows hadn't even hurt.

Neah gazed on, familiar with Noah's rather odd ability. Unlike the unwitting fool who was now gazing on with an incredulous expression on his face, seemingly confused over the blows that hadn't even hurt. He would find out the true extent of Noah's powers soon enough... and most likely too soon as far as he was concerned. Neah gazed on in boredom as he said, "In 5...4...3...2..."

In the instant that Neah would have said '1' the man issued a blood curdling scream as he fell to his knees on the ground. His eyes bulged as he panted for a moment, writhing in pain before he finally fell over and ceased all movement. His internal organs had been liquefied, a particularly gruesome way to die.

"The confused look in their eyes is the best," Noah said as he turned away from his victims. In the beginning he'd hated the fact that his powers seemed to be on a delay but now he reveled in this fact. Because watching confusion turn to abject horror never lost it's appeal as far as he was concerned.

"Fun, fun!" the twins exclaimed, their searching gazes shifting about as they sought out someone to destroy.

Wandering away from the others Neah kept his eyes peeled for any signs of Innocence, or the strange phenomena that always marked it's presence. Jannali walked along at his side, her gaze squarely focused on the Musician. It was obvious from her expression that she was concerned about him but she didn't voice this fact out loud and Neah chose to ignore the look. As they walked along it wasn't long before the two of them were confronted by an angry looking man.

"You're with that group of monsters," the man snarled in a menacing tone of voice, pointing a pistol at the two youths.

"You don't want to do that," Jannali spoke in her whispery quiet voice, though it contained a commanding tone that was slightly out of character for her. "What you really want to be doing is pointing it at yourself."

The man's eyes glazed over as he heard these words and, without so much as a second's hesitation, he turned the pistol and pointed it at himself.

"Now pull the trigger," Jannali commanded, her tone still quiet and commanding.

The man's finger tightened on the trigger, a shot rang out, and he fell to the ground. The close range of the shot, as well as the large caliber of the bullet, had served to blow half of the man's head off and Jannali smiled as she gazed down at the corpse. "Simple minded sub humans are so easy to control," she purred as she and Neah continued on their way.

* * *

The sounds of screams echoed in the town for the next hour or so as the group of Noah delighted in the torment and deaths of the inhabitants. For his part the Musician was intent upon finding the Innocence since, the sooner he found it, the sooner he could go back to what he had been doing before he'd been so rudely interrupted by his annoying siblings. His search led him to a small house on the outskirts of town, his Noah genes picking up on the energy of the Innocence the closer he drew to it. It appeared as though the inhabitants of the house had gone out, most likely to find out what was going on in their town, and Neah found the piece of Innocence wrapped in a cloth in a jewelry box in a back bedroom of the house.

"And this would be what we came for," he murmured as he returned to the living room, where he had left Jannali waiting. The small girl gave him a beaming smile as he held up the glowing green stone, pleased that they had actually managed to find the reported Innocence.

So the rumors had been true after all.

"Shall we go and collect the others?" she suggested, gesturing toward the front door.

"I'd much prefer to leave them here," Neah stated as he allowed her to exit the house first. His tone still contained a hint of irritation but he was less annoyed since he had been able to escape the majority of his siblings once they'd arrived in this town. They were too engrossed in their own fun to even notice the fact that he had wandered off. "But since that isn't an option we should probably find them."

"They're going to be so proud," Jannali said quietly.

Neah shrugged his shoulders, not really caring how the others would feel about the fact that he had managed to find the Innocence. All he cared about was returning to the mansion and resuming his musings. Alone and in peace.

* * *

"Hey Walker!"

Mana glanced up from the book that he was reading, his brown eyes immediately falling on the familiar face of his frequent, though reluctant, partner. "What is it Cross?" he questioned, noting the rather odd expression on the other teen's face.

The red haired Exorcist made his way into the library, pulling up a chair and sitting down beside Mana. As much as he hated being in close contact with other guys what he had to say wasn't something for public consumption. "I was just walking by the office," he muttered, his voice just loud enough for Mana to hear. "And I heard some of the higher ups talking about a town that was attacked earlier today."

Mana had no idea why this was so important… or for that matter why it was necessary for Cross to whisper the news. It was tragic but things like that happened all the time. "Akuma?"

Cross shook his head. "The single survivor reported that the ones responsible were gray skinned demons with golden eyes…"

Mana's eyes widened in horror as he heard this description. "Neah…"

A/N - End of another chapter and the Noah got to have some fun. Hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and share your thoughts. Each review is greatly appreciated.


	7. The Massacre

Disclaimer - I do not own DGM

Chapter Seven - The Massacre

Knowing that the Order would likely send someone to the scene of the attack to investigate the situation, owing to the odd description given by the sole survivor, Mana decided that he would take his chances and volunteer for the mission. He was normally far from the type who would ask for a mission, which he was hoping would work to his advantage in this case. Perhaps the higher ups would see this as an opportunity to put the teen to good use.

"C'mon Cross," he said, getting to his feet and making his way toward the library door. "We're going to have a word with the higher ups."

"Because that has a track record of working out well for you," Cross muttered as he fell into step behind his companion. He rolled his eyes as the two of them made their way to the Branch Chief's office, unable to believe that Mana was actually going to make this request. "It's finally happened… he's lost his already shaky grasp on sanity," the red haired teen couldn't help but think to himself.

"I know what you're thinking," Mana said quietly, almost sounding as though he had the capability of reading the mind of his companion. This wasn't the case of course; he'd just been around Cross so much that he could anticipate his thoughts with amazing accuracy. "But this is something that I have to do…"

"Like I give a damn what you do," Cross spat back in retort. "I'm stuck with you on missions most of the time but that doesn't make us friends, you got that Walker?"

"I know, I know," Mana said quietly, having heard this on more than one occasion. Having reached the office by this time Mana reached out and knocked softly on the door. A couple of seconds passed before a voice from within beckoned for them to enter. Pulling the door open Mana stepped inside the overly neat office, followed a short distance behind by Cross.

"What perfect timing," the Branch Chief, Gavin Knighten, said, gazing at the two teens who had just entered his office. "I was just about to send for the two of you and here you are."

Mana was somewhat surprised to learn that the chief had been planning on sending for them but hid this surprise well. "It's just that we were hoping you might send us out on another mission soon sir," he said, taking the initiative and including Cross in this request. He could hear the sound of his companion growling under his breath but ignored it. "We want to be as useful as possible."

"That's good," Chief Knighten said, nodding his head in approval. "Because as it just so happens there is something that I want the two of you to investigate." Pulling down a map he pointed toward a town that was marked by a dot. "A group of Finders was looking into reports of Innocence in this town when it was massacred by a group of, and I quote, 'demons'. I want you and Cross to find out what happened and report back to me."

"Right," Mana said, unable to believe his luck. They had actually been given the assignment that he had planned on requesting. Of course this should have served as a sign to the teen, since his luck had never been that good, but he didn't give thought to this fact. "With your permission we'll leave immediately."

The chief nodded. "You have it."

Inclining his head slightly to the man Mana turned to take his leave, with Cross once again falling into step behind him. The red haired teen soon grew tired of this arrangement however and moved to walk in front of Mana the moment that they were out of the office. "Don't you find that even the slightest bit strange?" he threw over his shoulder as the two of them made their way back to their rooms, which were located side by side.

"It is odd that he opted to send us on the very mission that I was going to request," Mana conceded with a nod of his head. "But since it's what I wanted there's no way that I'm going to argue the point with the man. If he has ulterior motives then so be it. I have only one thing in mind and that's finding out what's going on with…"

Whirling around Cross glared at his companion. "Not here," he hissed, gazing around briefly before continuing on toward their destination. He was well aware of the fact that it was nearly impossible to be alone in this place and didn't want Mana to say something that both of them may regret later.

"Right," Mana said, nodding his head in understanding. "Sorry."

"Idiot," Cross muttered under his breath.

* * *

After a rather lengthy train ride Mana and Cross arrived at the train station in the town that was close to their assignment. Since the entire town had been massacred, and the culprits not found, the train wasn't even going through that particular town at the moment. Stepping out onto the platform the pair of young Exorcists were met by a man dressed in a tan jacket. "Welcome," he said, inclining his head to them in a respectful manner. "My name is Rafael and I was sent here to meet you."

"Mana Walker," the older of the two teens replied, offering the man a polite nod. "And this is Cross Marian."

Cross regarded the Finder for a moment but didn't say anything. He was still irritated over the train ride and the fact that he hadn't been able to acquire any alcohol and as a result wasn't in an overly friendly mood.

"You'll have to forgive him," Mana said, his tone somewhat apologetic as he turned his gaze back to Rafael. He knew that people tended to be put off by Cross' rough manner and continually felt the need to offer apologies on his behalf. "He's a bit of an anti-social fellow."

"Oh shut up," Cross snapped at the same moment that Rafael said, "It's not a problem. At any rate I'm very pleased to meet both of you and, if you'll come with me, I'll show you to the town."

"Don't bother," Cross said, not wanting the Finder to bear witness to any outburst that Mana might be unable to hold at bay upon seeing the carnage that had supposedly been caused by an ashen skinned demon that was likely to turn out to be his younger brother. "We know where we're going. You should report back to the Black Order and tell them what you found out."

The Finder regarded the rather gruff Exorcist for a moment before nodding his head. "Alright, if that's what you want." He was reluctant to follow this particular order but had been taught that the Exorcists always had the final say and not to question direct orders from them.

"It could still be dangerous there," Mana added, hoping to rid the Finder of the doubts that he was no doubt feeling over the order from Cross. Because he could tell, by the expression on the man's face, that he was questioning it. "We don't want anything to happen to you…"

"And we don't want you as a distraction," Cross added curtly.

Rafael thought about this logic for a moment before nodding his head once again. He seemed more at ease after Mana's reasoning and bade them goodbye before boarding the train that the two Exorcists had just departed from.

Pulling out a map that he had brought along Mana pointed out the direction that he had Cross should take before moving forward. The pair of teenaged Exorcists traveled in silence for awhile before Mana spoke. "The Order is going to think it suspicious that we sent the Finder back before going to the town."

"I already know this Walker," Cross said, his voice low and irritated as he glared at Mana. "Unlike you, I'm not an idiot. But it would be more suspicious if you happened to slip up and mention this brother of your's around the guy…"

Mana gaped at his companion. "Were you actually worried about me Marian?"

"Hell no," Cross spat out. "But it's guilt by association as far as the Order is concerned and I'll be damned if I'll be charged with heresy because of that damn little brat."

"Ah," Mana said, his gaze shifting forward as the town came into view. "I see."

* * *

Together the two young Exorcists made their way toward the town, the fact that no one had dared venture here since the massacre evident by the foul odor that hung heavy in the air. Pulling his hand back slightly Mana used the end of his sleeve to cover his nose and mouth as he gazed around, a horrified expression appearing in his brown eyes. Bodies lay everywhere… men, women and children. It seemed that whoever was responsible had killed indiscriminately. Some had obvious signs of trauma while others merely appeared to be sleeping. Of course there could be no denying the fact that they were all dead.

Shaking his head Mana whispered, his words muffled due the sleeve that he was still pressing to his face, "There's no way that Neah is responsible for this… he can't be."

While the fact that the boy had changed was something that couldn't be denied Mana absolutely refused to believe that Neah was capable of such brutality. He wasn't a bad person, just a little misguided perhaps, so there was simply no way that he could have done something like this.

"Denial will get you nowhere," Cross said, seemingly less affected by the scene of carnage than his companion. His red eyes surveyed the scene as he tried to determine whether there was any lingering threat from whoever was responsible for the deaths of an entire town full of people. "And at any rate we should look for the Innocence that was rumored to be here."

Nodding his head in agreement Mana went through the motions of searching for signs of Innocence but his heart simply wasn't in it. He was still reeling from this most recent trauma concerning his brother, unable to keep himself from thinking that perhaps he would have been able to prevent this if only he'd fought harder against the Order in the beginning. Would Neah have still ended up on the side of the Millennium Earl if he'd been there for the kid?

A thought that was now likely to haunt him.

Once more Mana gripped the pendant that he wore around his neck, both a gift as well as a curse. This was what had brought him on to the Black Order's radar, something that he recalled with disdain.

FLASHBACK

"What do you want with me?" the fifteen year old questioned as he was tossed into a private train car. He had fought against the men who had grabbed him with all the strength that he possessed but it had proven to be of no avail. Two of the men moved to sit beside him while two more stood guard at the door, meaning that it would be very difficult for him to make an attempt at escape.

"You should be happy boy," the man who had grabbed him said from his position near the door. "You're one of God's Chosen… that pendant is proof of that."

Mana gazed down at the cross, which had began to glow slightly. The teen's eyes widened slightly and he made a move to remove it from around his neck, afraid of what was happening.

But for some reason it wouldn't come off.

"Don't be afraid of your weapon boy," the man said, staring at his captive intently. "Make it a part of you."

"Weapon?" Mana repeated, his brown eyes growing slightly wider. "I don't want a weapon… I just want to go back home. Back to my brother."

"You're dead to your family now boy," the man said gruffly, hoping to squash any hopes that the boy may hold for returning to the ones he had left behind. "You have a higher calling."

END FLASHBACK

That had been the beginning of a long conflict between himself and the Order, Mana having only recently began to follow the orders that he was given. It had taken him over three years to resign himself to the fact that his life was never going to return to what it was.

The constant rebellion had only caused him pain and in the end Mana had resolved to do what he could for the benefit of mankind, despite the fact that he loathed the thought of fighting. But, now that he had been reunited with his brother, the teen felt the old doubts resurface.

Was this really what he should be doing?

A/N - end of another chapter, hope that you enjoyed.


	8. Brother Mine

Disclaimer - I do not own DGM

Chapter Eight - Brother Mine

After recovering the piece of Innocence from the town the group of Noah spent some time talking and joking among themselves. Or most of them did; the 14th point blank refused to join in the conversation, choosing instead to toy with the piece of Innocence that was in the pocket of his jacket. He was thoroughly annoyed by this point, having expected them to complete their mission and then leave, but in hindsight realized that he should have known it wouldn't be that simple. Nothing ever was when dealing with his siblings. At present the twins were taunting Noah, who was promising a painful death to them if they didn't stop.

"So annoying," Neah said once he'd finally had enough. Clearing his throat he attempted to get the attention of the others, which worked surprisingly well. All eyes shifted toward the Musician, who gave each of his siblings a look of displeasure. "I'm summoning the gate to the Ark now… and you guys can either leave or find a different way back to the manor. At this point I can assure you that I don't care which option you choose."

And, having said this, Neah once again opened the doorway to the Ark. Stepping to the side the dark haired Noah boy allowed his siblings to enter first and then moved to follow them but something stopped him. Pausing at the doorway he pulled the Innocence from his pocket, gazing down at it for a moment before absently tossing it to Aiden. Making a split second decision, and not even bothering to think about the possible consequences of his actions, the left corner of his mouth twitched up into a half-smirk. "Take the Innocence and go back… the door back to the mansion is already open down the hallway."

This said Neah turned and walked away, without so much as a word of explanation to his siblings.

"NEAH!" Noah called out as the doorway to the Ark closed behind the youngest of their family. There was a confused expression on his face but nothing that he could do to stop the younger's retreat since Neah had complete control of the Ark and had already taken steps to seal them inside. With a sigh he turned his mismatched eyes toward Aiden, a helpless expression on his face. "How are we supposed to explain this to Lord Millennium?"

Aiden shook his head, slightly irritated over the rather rash behavior of their youngest sibling but not making this fact known to any of the others. "I have no idea."

Jannali sighed, reaching up and toying with one of her pigtails as she thought about the youngest and newest member of their family. He had always been distant toward them, a fact that she'd grown accustomed to, but recently he'd grown even more distracted and antisocial than what was normal even for him. Something had happened, she was sure of it, but for the life of her the Noah girl couldn't figure out what that something might have been. "This didn't turn out at all the way that I thought it would," the girl commented in her whispery quiet voice.

"You're not the only one…" Noah muttered, clenching his hand and crushing the piece of Innocence into a fine green powder. All he'd wanted was to make Neah realize that he was a member of their family but it appeared as though this plan of action had backfired on him.

Story of his life.

* * *

"I'm sure that's going to come back to haunt me later," Neah mused to himself as he walked away from the spot where the doorway to the Ark had been summoned. It was long gone by now but the boy still wanted to distance himself before the others went and informed the Earl of what he had done. Lord Millennium could control the Ark, though his own level of control was eclipsed by that of the Musician, and Neah didn't want to hang around and wait for the arrival of the large man.

The young Noah was well aware of the fact that the man would be displeased with what he had done.

"At least I didn't strand them somewhere," the boy muttered as he made his way back toward the town that he and his siblings had laid waste to. True enough his hands weren't actually stained with blood but that didn't really matter since he'd done nothing to stop the slaughter either. On some level the boy knew that he should feel remorse for what had been done to these people, none of whom had actually done anything to them other than existing, but in the eyes of the Noah that was enough. And to one as jaded as Neah, suffering was just something that humanity was destined for.

He didn't cause it nor did he try to stop it… the youth was completely ambivalent to what had happened. None of it concerned him, not even as he gazed around at the carnage.

With a shake of his head, which served to knock his bangs down into his eyes, the youth made his way through town toward the forest that skirted it on the south side. All he wanted was some time alone to think and he definitely didn't want to be surrounded by corpses.

A small path led into the forest and Neah chose to follow it, walking along as the dirt path wound it's way through the forest and up to a small stream. The water was peacefully flowing and Neah sat down on the bank, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, his eyes gazing at the water as he seemed to fall into a somewhat hypnotic state.

He hadn't always held such disdain for humanity… in his youth there had been only two people whom he absolutely loathed. Unfortunately those two people had been his parents and they had loathed his existence just as much as he had loathed theirs. And yet because of his older brother there had been something of a balance in their family… until the day that Mana was taken by those strangers in black.

That was the day that his world had been destroyed.

**FLASHBACK**

Groaning slightly Neah opened his eyes, his head throbbing where he had struck it against the wall. Reaching up he gripped his head, content to lie on the floor until this nauseous feeling faded away. That is, until he recalled what had happened… remembered the fact that his brother had been taken by a group of strange looking men.

"Mana!" The boy jumped to his feet, making a move toward the door with the intention of going off to search for him big brother. His progress was halted however as the door opened from the outside and an angry looking man strode inside. The small boy froze as his gaze fell upon this imposing figure, scared now that he didn't have Mana to stand up against the man and protect him from his father's loathing.

"He's gone," the man growled, seizing Neah by the arm and once again throwing him against the wall. His eyes were hard and filled with hate as he gazed at his youngest, who sank to the floor and cowered there. "Why couldn't they have taken you instead?"

**END FLASHBACK**

The question that his father had asked of him that day was one that Neah had asked of himself on countless occasions thereafter. He'd had absolutely no idea what had made those men take his brother, the one good person in his world. His father's level of violence had increased after that, making Neah's life all but unbearable.

Until the day that he had finally snapped.

"I wonder what Mana would think of me if he knew about that?" Neah mused to himself, the glazed over expression leaving his eyes. A slight chuckle escaped his lips but it was completely devoid of all mirth. It was funny to a certain extint but then again, at the same time it really wasn't.

* * *

"Cross," Mana said after they'd searched the town for any signs of the Innocence. He wanted desperately to escape the scene of carnage, since it seemed fairly obvious that they weren't going to find what they sought in this devastated town. "I don't think we're going to find it… At least not here."

Cross regarded his companion for a minute before giving a curt nod of his head. They'd only been in this town for about an hour but in this time they had searched most everywhere, finding not so much as a trace of the Innocence during this search. "I guess you have a point… Damn it, this was a fucking waste of time."

Having known that the red haired teen's reaction would be something similar to this Mana merely shook his head. Since there didn't seem to be any signs of the Innocence, nor the people responsible for what had happened at the town, there wasn't really any reason for them to stay. With a sigh he made a move to head back toward the path that had lead them there but paused as he caught sight of a barely used dirt path that was leading into the forest. He couldn't explain the feeling but something was telling him that he needed to follow that trail so, after a second's thought, he obeyed the impulse.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cross demanded as he was forced to whirl around and catch up to his partner. "You're going the wrong way idiot."

"I know," Mana said quietly, not even bothering to argue against the rather harsh claims that Cross had made against his level of intelligence as he continued down the trail. "But there's something about this path so just shut up and follow or else go back and wait for me."

Cross was so stunned by these words that he actually fell silent, following along behind Mana as the other teen made his way down the trail. Before long it opened up into a clearing where a river was flowing peacefully and Mana drew up short as he saw the small figure who was sitting on the bank of the river.

"Neah…"

Having been lost in thought Neah was startled to hear the voice that was calling out behind him. Scrambling to his feet he whirled around to come face to face with Mana and the red headed idiot from before. A wary expression appeared in the boy's eyes and he would have taken a couple of steps back had the river not been blocking his path of retreat. "What are you doing here?"

"Calm down Neah," Mana said, holding up his hands in a placating manner. He had mixed feelings about seeing his brother in this place, since he couldn't get the faces of the dead out of his mind, but none the less didn't want to do anything to cause him to run off before they'd had the opportunity to talk. "We're not going to hurt you so just relax okay?"

Neah scoffed at these words, which his brother meant to be reassuring. "Like you could hurt me…"

Mana flinched as he was once again reminded of the fact that this wasn't the boy that he had left behind when he'd been taken by the Order but rather a more standoffish version. "Your manners definitely need some more work Neah…"

"I know that's not what you really want to say to me," Neah said, his dark eyed gaze focused on the face of his brother. "I can tell by the look in your eyes so why not just come out and say it?"

Mana felt the tightness in his chest growing, along with the nauseous feeling from before, but he pushed both of these to the side as he gazed at his brother unflinchingly. "Did you have anything to do with what happened back at that town Neah?" There was a pleading look in the teen's eyes as he posed this question to his younger sibling. "Tell me that you didn't."

"I wasn't directly responsible for any of the deaths," Neah replied, his voice devoid of all emotion as he stated this fact in a matter of fact tone. "But I was present for it."

"That makes you just as guilty as…" Cross began but halted as Mana whirled to face him. "Just stay out of it Cross… this is between my brother and myself."

Mildly surprised by the outburst from the normally mild mannered teen Cross actually took a couple of steps back. He still intended to settle the score with the brat but that could always wait until the two brothers had settled things between themselves.

"How could you take part in something like that Neah?" Mana asked, sounding broken hearted. Tears actually appeared in his eyes as he continued to stare at the boy… the Neah that he remembered had never been violent.

"Because I couldn't care less what happens to the pathetic sub-humans," Neah replied without hesitation. "They've never given me a reason to and after awhile one grows weary of being kicked around… there's only so much abuse a dog can withstand before it turns violent and it would seem as though I am no different."

A/N - End of another chapter and the brothers are once again face to face. Hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Til next time, farewell.


	9. Different as Night and Day

Disclaimer- I do not own DGM nor any of the characters.

Chapter Nine- Different as Night and Day

Neah's words caused the heartbreak that Mana was already feeling to intensify more than he would have thought possible. What could possibly have happened to the younger boy after they were separated to have turned the kind and quiet child that he remembered into such a jaded individual. Blinking a couple of times so that the tears that were welling up in his eyes didn't fall Mana continued to stare at his brother. "What happened to you Neah?" It was such a simple question really but one that the teen felt compelled to ask none the less.

Even though he was somewhat afraid of the answer that he would get.

Neah didn't even so much as bat an eye as he stared directly into his brother's eyes. He could see the emotions that were held within, could easily read them and therefore knew how much pain this was causing the older, but he was unaffected. Or at least that was what the boy kept trying to tell himself. "You sure you really want me to answer that question?" Neah asked as he gave his older brother a pointed look. Mana knew what their father had been like so it really shouldn't require that much elaboration.

And hearing the truth might cause him even more pain.

The Musician kept telling himself over and over in his mind that he didn't care if the answer to the question made Mana feel even worse than he already did but of course there was a small part of himself that knew that if this were really the case he wouldn't have to keep repeating it over and over. Neah shrugged this thought off however as he continued to gaze at Mana without blinking.

Mana hesitated for only a split second as he gazed into Neah's steely dark eyes before nodding his head in the affirmative. He might not want to know, and the truth may cause him pain, but the fact remained that he needed to know. He needed to understand what had happened to his brother to cause him this level of pain… to cause him to completely turn a blind eye to the suffering of others. "Yes Neah. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know."

"Alright then," Neah said calmly, his expression still stoic. "After you were taken by those men in black our father blamed me for what happened… or else wished that I had been the one they had kidnapped instead of you. That was the question that he constantly asked; why was it you instead of me? Of course I asked myself the same question as he grew more and more violent toward me. Why had they taken you, the only advocate that I had, and left me to suffer alone in that hell? " At this point Neah paused for a moment, letting all of that sink in before he delivered the real bombshell. He could see the guilt that had appeared in his brother's eyes but completely ignored it. It didn't matter how badly Mana felt about what had happened… the fact remained that none of it could be changed. "This went on for a long time… couldn't really tell you an exact time frame but too long in my opinion… until one day I just snapped. I had taken all the abuse that I could from that old bastard and in the end, well, suffice it to say that I gave as good as I got."

At this point a slightly sinister smile spread slowly across Neah's face as he recalled the shocked look on the man's face when the child that he had terrorized had suddenly turned on him and fought back. That was the first time that the Noah side of him had ever made an appearance and, as morbid as it sounded, one of the highlights of Neah's life.

Mana actually gasped as he realized the significance of Neah's words and saw the disturbing smile that his brother was now wearing. He actually shuddered as a mental image entered into his mind of his brother stained in the blood of their father but, shaking his head, he turned to Neah with an understanding look. "No one can blame you for that Neah… What he did to you was completely uncalled for. But that doesn't mean that the rest of humanity is like that and deserves the same treatment."

Neah gazed at his brother with a challenging look. "All humans are the same. They'll willingly sacrifice others for their own gains every time. Prove me wrong."

Sighing slightly Mana crossed the distance that separated him from his brother, before the younger even had the chance to move away, and wrapped his arms around Neah. "I'm really sorry that I wasn't there to protect you Neah… Maybe if I'd fought harder then you wouldn't have had to endure something so traumatic." It was obvious that what had happened had scarred the boy more than even Neah realized and Mana desperately wanted to do something to take away the slightly haunted expression that he saw whenever he looked into his brother's eyes.

Neah reflexively tensed as his brother embraced him but he was actually too shocked to try and pull away.

"I don't fucking believe this," Cross spoke up, thusly reminding the pair of siblings that he was indeed still present and watching this rather girlish display. "Walker! You do realize that this brat is the enemy right?"

Loosening his grasp on his brother somewhat but not completely letting him go Mana turned to glare at his partner. There was a dangerous look in his normally kind eyes that actually made his partner take a step back. "I can hurt you, y'know. And I hope that you realize that Neah is my brother and I won't abandon him again."

Hearing these words seemed to snap Neah out of whatever trance like state he'd fallen into and he forcibly pulled himself free from the grasp of his older brother. Taking a couple of steps back, so that he was out of arm's reach of Mana, Neah shook his head. "No Mana the red headed fool has a very valid point, as much as I hate to admit it. I can't change what I've become."

Mana shook his head in return, making a move to step back toward his brother. "You may not be able to change what you are Neah but that shouldn't affect _who_ you are. Only you can decide for yourself what kind of a person you are and…" Mana paused at this point as his thoughts shifted back to the scene of carnage in the village. He shuddered as he vividly recalled the faces of the dead once more but shook this off and continued. "I know that you're a better person than that. The fact that you didn't take part in the killing is proof enough as far as I'm concerned."

Neah blinked a couple of times in mild shock. This was pretty much the last thing that he had expected to hear from his brother and the Musician admittedly didn't know how to react to it. Here he stood, a member of the Family of Noah who was siding with the Millennium Earl in this war, and yet his brother, an Exorcist and ally of the Black Order, was actually telling him that he wasn't beyond redemption. Shaking his head the fourteen year old turned his gaze back to the river that he had been peacefully watching before his brother and the red headed fool had ruined said peace. He needed a minute to digest this newest in a series of shocks.

With a slight chuckle Neah once again turned his gaze toward his brother. "You always were too forgiving Mana."

Mana simply held up his hands and made no attempt to deny his brother's words. "What can I say, it's just a character flaw that I'm doomed to be stuck with forever."

Neah's expression turned serious at this point. "No. It's a character flaw that's going to get you killed if you aren't careful." There was just the barest hint of a sad tone hidden within his voice that it would take someone very perceptive to notice.

Or someone that had known Neah for a long time.

"So you are worried about me huh Neah boy?" Mana said in a light teasing tone. "That makes me feel a great deal better but if I have to either die or give up my trust in humanity then I guess I'm just destined to die. Because I refuse to do anything other than look for the good in people. Everyone has good points, even Cross over there."

Both Neah and Cross snorted at this comment, though most likely both for different reasons.

"Damn," Cross growled as he gazed at his so called partner. "I knew that you were a pathetic individual but this level of idiocy is something that even I didn't see coming."

Mana just turned to the man with a shrug but Neah rushed forward, seizing the red headed Exorcist by the collar and roughly slamming the larger male against a tree. With a strength belied by his small stature Neah actually held the older teen suspended off the ground a few feet and pinned to the tree. "You are the last person who should have anything to say about someone being an idiot," the Noah youth growled, fixing narrowed eyes on the Exorcist.

"NEAH!" Rushing forward Mana pried his brother's hands from Cross' jacket, noting the shocked expression that had appeared on his partner's face as well as the fact that the teen's face was beginning to turn slightly blue. "I appreciate the fact that you're sticking up for me but this really isn't necessary." He smiled slightly as Neah released his grip, grateful that the younger teen had seen fit to do so since he wasn't sure whether he could have forced it if Neah had decided to resist. "Remind me not to ever make you angry," he playfully teased as Cross massaged his throat and tried to catch his breath.

Neah merely shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk away.

"Where the hell do you think you're going brat?" Cross demanded once he had caught his breath enough to speak. While that move had caused him to become slightly more wary of the Noah brat there was still nothing but contempt for the youth contained within his red eyed gaze.

Mana didn't really agree with the way that Cross chose to ask the question but he none the less wanted an answer to it as well. "Where are you going Neah?" he asked in a more polite tone, tilting his head slightly to the side as he gazed at his brother in question.

"Somewhere, anywhere," Neah replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Doesn't really matter where, I don't suppose." But it wasn't as though he could just remain here in this place talking to a pair of Exorcists. While he wouldn't have minded spending a bit more time with his brother, admittedly, the other one was an annoyance that he could do without. Between Noah and the other members of his so called family Neah got plenty of aggravation without that red headed fool adding to it. "I just can't stay here."

"But Neah…" Mana began, not wanting his brother to leave.

Neah shook his head and continued walking. "I told you Mana… I can't change what I am."

"Neah, please wait…" Mana called out to his brother, moving to follow the younger teen, but Neah sprinted off down the path before the older teen even got the chance to take a step. Looking slightly crestfallen Mana turned back to his partner. "Well that could have gone better."

Cross, for once, decided not to be an ass. Shrugging his shoulders he dead-panned, "Could have gone worse too."

Mana blinked a couple of times in surprise as he gazed at his partner. Had Cross actually just tried to make him feel better about the situation? Well wonders really would never cease. "You're right," he said after a moment, nodding his head ever so slightly. "It could have gone much worse. And I'm not going to give up on Neah. I know the truth of him, even if he doesn't realize it about himself just yet."

Cross scoffed and shook his head. "You really are an idiot."

Mana just laughed. "And you're guilty by association so there."

A fact which, to his great horror, Cross was unable to deny. So the red haired teen had to simply settle for growling under his breath before shoving his partner. "Move your ass. We have to get the Innocence back to headquarters before people start asking too many questions. Questions that I know for a fact you aren't going to want to answer."

"Right," Mana said with a nod, knowing exactly what Cross was referring to. As he turned to follow Cross back toward the town Mana allowed his thoughts to wander back to his brother. _"I'm not going to give up on you Neah... I know the type of person that you're capable of being and I won't rest until I see that person standing beside me."_

A/N - End of another chapter, hope that you enjoyed. Wow, but it feels weird to be writing so much. My inspiration must have improved since it was reincarnated. Hope this lasts. XD


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